The Terrifying Moment a 7-Year-Old Girl Falls Out a Third-Story Window…and Is Caught by a Local Bus Driver!
- Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:13am by
Erica Ritz
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(Photo: CBS)
Steve St. Bernard, 52, became a local hero after saving the life of his autistic, 7-year-old neighbor.
According to the New York Daily News, the girl had opened the window of her family’s third-story apartment in the Brooklyn-area, before crawling out.
She sang and danced as neighboring kids watched in horror from the ground, but soon lost her balance.
The girl falls out of her third-story window at the top-right of the image. (Photo: CBS)
The New York Daily News relates:
St. Bernard, who lives in the housing complex, was alerted by the cries of onlookers.
“I went over there to make sure if she fell I could catch her,” St. Bernard said. “I’m not a hero — anybody would have done it. I did it out of normal instincts.”
One of his own four children is the same age as the child who fell, he said.
He said he was just worried he might not manage to catch the child. “I thought to myself, let me get over there and catch her. I just hope I don’t drop her.”
The catch knocked St. Bernard, a father of four, to the ground.
“She fell and she put her hands out,” said witness Jesse Padilla, 9. “Her head hit a bush, but Steve caught the rest of her body.”
Watch the heart-stopping video, below:
The young girl was taken to the hospital as a precaution, but according to reports, is doing just fine.
St. Bernard, an MTA bus driver, was treated for a torn tendon in his left bicep but didn’t appear to suffer any serious damage.
“I just prayed that I’d catch her,” he explained.
The New York Daily News concludes by discussing city regulations intended to prevent such accidents:
The family was not required to have a window guard installed if there was an air-conditioning unit in the window, a NYCHA spokesman said.
Air conditioners are required to have permanent, structurally sound barriers that leave no opening greater than 41/2 inches in homes with children under 10 in New York City.
NYCHA is investigating the situation, the spokesman said.
WPIX has an interview with the local hero, and some startled neighbors:
(H/T: Daily Mail)
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Comments (69)
NebraskaFarmGirl
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 1:13pmAs the grandmother of twin granddaughters who are autistic, I can tell you that the best laid plans of mice and men are sometimes still insufficient in preventing what their brilliantly focused little minds can think of. So I wont be casting any stones.
What a BEAUTIFUL ending to what could have otherwise ended up as a tragic story. God Bless You St. Bernard,…..God was truly watching out for this little one and you answered the call.
Report Post »rickc34
Posted on July 18, 2012 at 9:14amThank you Lord for placing Steve there at the right time and right place and giving him the strength he needed. Great job Steve.
Report Post »THX-1138
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 1:08pmIf only he could save the rest of the kids.
Report Post »Zcat
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:42pmThe child DID NOT fall; she jumped!!! And thats whatis distrubing!
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:37pmNow where was the mother or father during all this? I am glad he was there and those 300 kids who raided a Wal-Mart could learn from this man.
Report Post »Mutiny
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:48pmAt da club.
Report Post »bigmac1990
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:55pmthey could have been out of the room and had a family member watching them and it can still happen. when i was 5 yrs old me and my sister were at the mall and my mom told my sister to watch me while she went to get lunch and my sister turned for a few sec and i went all the way across the mall.
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 1:07pmSteve, yo mama raised you right..GOOD MAN!!!!
Report Post »Deepizzaguy
Posted on July 18, 2012 at 8:24pmAmen to that.
Report Post »freedomisasfreedomdoes
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:26pmwow awesome. He should get a key to the city lol
Report Post »GENE BLISTER
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:24pm“yyyeeeoooohhhhhhhh……”
Perceptive, erudite and incisive.
Moron…
Report Post »AverageWhiteMale
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:13pmIf Obama had an Uncle he’d be just like that….Wait…he HAS an uncle, living off the governemt, ilegal alien, drunk driver that crashed into police.
Report Post »Arc
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:10pmTrue Hero!!!!!!
Report Post »Simonne
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:09pmParents can’t hold her child hand 24 hrs. a day. She is autistic & doesn’t realize the danger. I imagine the parents will take extra precaution but they can do so much. All I know about autism is what I’ve seen on tv & movies & I certainly would never judge these parents because I haven’t been in their shoes.
Report Post »normalmom
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:31pmIt is a challenge I have a son with autism. There are ways the window needed to be blocked in some way. With a child like that think of the worst possibility and ways to prevent it. Think ahead.
Report Post »bigmac1990
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:51pmim have altisim and no we dont always understand danger it took me till i was 14 to understand that cars coming down the street would hurt me and that i need to look before i cross
Report Post »RightPolitically
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:06pmGood catch, Steve. Thank God your name wasn’t Marv Thronberry! For those of you who might not remember “Marvelous Marv” as he was known, Thronberry was a hapless first-basement for the recently minted New York Mets back in the mid-sixties. Famously, ‘ol Marv was captured on video tape dropping an easy pop-up near first base in one of the Mets’ typically blundered games during that era. Like I say, Thank God Steve was there below, not the Marvelous One!
Report Post »MCGIRV
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 3:23pmHa ha ha! The Amazing Mets where a blast! What a bunch of bums!
Report Post »Deepizzaguy
Posted on July 18, 2012 at 8:25pmOr Jackie Smith in Super Bowl XIII when he dropped a touchdown pass from Roger Staubach.
Report Post »ricckky
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:04pmWhere is her mommy or daddy?– Who is watching this poor child to make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen. Wow—What a hero Mr. Bernard is and he seems like a great guy. He needs to knock on this little girls door and give his parents”:what for”–Unfortunately they may not be there.
Report Post »VanceUppercut
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:00pmAverage Blazer:”Oh he’s a hero! What a great American! Oh wait, he’s black? Oh, then he’s a Commie crackhead who just wants free Obama money!
Report Post »drattastic
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:31pm@vance
Report Post »Apparently you haven’t read the comments . Funny that you just became (exposed) guilty of what you accused others of doing. I bet you don‘t have a clue what I’m talking about do you drone ?
ReallyTired
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:39pmAverage VANCEUPPERCUT:
Report Post »Duh! I’m an idiot.
COFemale
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 12:41pmIn this life you meet all kinds of people; some are ______heads. Glad to see you meet the definition.
Report Post »Now go play in traffic.
Virgil_Lance
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:56pmWell, you’ve gotten one thing right; he is a hero and a great American!
Report Post »DesdemonasCrew
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:56amThank you! You are a Guardian Angel, sir!
Report Post »Carlinpa
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:56amWow that was amazing.. and another hero!! so many other people would just video it and do nothing..
Report Post »Free2speakRN
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:51amThank God for all. This good man lived up to his name. God bless him much.
Report Post »HKS
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:46amI think the term “Hero” is widely misused in this society, however, this is not the case here.
Report Post »Conservative-Atheist
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:48amI couldn’t agree more. This is a real hero…not just somebody doing their job.
Report Post »thegreatcarnac
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:43amShe was being watched real well by her family…wasn’t she? (sarcasm)
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:39amNot just a hero, a St. (Saint)
Report Post »PalmSpringsPatriot
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:45amHe didn’t catch that kid on his own. Government was right behind him, telling him where to stand!
Report Post »bry
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 9:45pmSt. Bernard, patron St of the Alps, St Bernards are wonderful rescue dogs how fitting his name is. Bless you Mr St. Bernard, the world needs more selfless, brave men like you!
Report Post »normalmom
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:39amJust awesome he had the bravery to put himself in danger to catch her. With an autistic child they needed to have no way for her to open the window, or climb out. They don’t have an understanding about how dangerous it can be. Just wonderful.
Report Post »Sharon Rose
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:33amMay God shower blessings on this hero and the little girl.
Report Post »Tri-ox
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:28amfrom the NYDN article: …”After crawling out, she clowned around, singing and dancing on top of the air conditioner as a crowd of kids looked on from below…”
There appears to be something terribly wrong with this child – what is going on in this household?
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:38amAccording to the article, she’s autistic.
Report Post »MeCpl13
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:39amShe has autism. Autistic folks have their brains wired differently. Thank God her neighbor was there to catch her. I hope her parents will watch her more closely now, and/or take measures to keep the windows inaccessible to her to unlock- it only takes a second for something tragic to happen (this I know, as the parent of a child with autism.)
Report Post »mtcountrygrl
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:42amread the story, she’s autistic
Report Post »normalmom
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:42amIt says she is autistic they don’t understand the danger of being up that high.
Report Post »Abigail Adams
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:48amThe article says she’s autistic. I wouldn’t call that “something terribly wrong”. Don’t judge the family. My son has Aspergers, which is high functioning autism. He was younger than this girl the summer he kept climbing out a second story window onto our roof. At one point, he even snuck a screwdriver upstairs to pick the window lock.
Report Post »It wasn’t our fault and kids with autism behave unusually. You can’t reason with them & they often have no concept of danger. It has to be taught to them & it is a long, difficult, exhausting process.
God Bless the neighbor who caught her fall!
RightUnite
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:27amAwwww!! Good on him!!
Report Post »salvawhoray
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:27amBusinesses are just wasting money on their commericals online.
Report Post »Like the news paper that can’t compete with online news.
Don’t the know that people multi task, and they would either go read the comments or look at another open site until the commerica is over.
If you have a good product it will be found, but not with commercial online.
momrules
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:26amMr. St. Bernard is a hero. He did not pull out his cell phone to record the little girls fall, he did not call 911 and wait for the authorities to come to the rescue. He simply took action and saved her himself.
God bless Mr. St. Bernard and the child….and I believe He did just that.
Report Post »kickagrandma
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:55amAmen!, MOM.
Report Post »Angel_light
Posted on July 17, 2012 at 11:25amMr. Bernard was at the right place at the right time and did a good thing. I thank God that he caught her. He is a great hero and i hope his arm heals fast
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